I’m going to make a somewhat valiant effort to update my reactions to the main basketball days this season – trying to pick some solid players and games and matchups and the implications that those all have on the future of the season.
We’ll see how that goes farther down the line this season, but for now, I present to you my rapid (24-hours after games ended) reaction to Friday night’s matchup.

Players of the Night
Javion Ogunyemi, Troy High: The 6’8” center, and the anchor of the Flying Horses’ defense racked up a game-high 25 points, making his presence and his physicality well-known in a 52-39 victory over Schenectady.
Caraline Wood, Averill Park: The Warriros are making a bit of an early-season statement thanks to back-to-back Suburban Council victories with the help of Wood, who came off the bench to post 18 points in a win over Columbia.
Malike Dare, Shaker: The first-year Shaker standout, who transferred in from CBA this season, posted a team-high 15 points and 13 rebounds in a 67-43 victory over Saratoga. The performance was the junior power forward’s second straight double-double.
Conrad Zampier, Columbia: The senior guard followed up his record-breaking 42 point performance with a game-high 24 points in a 75-57 victory over Averill Park. It wasn’t record-breaking, but it was still pretty impressive.

Game I Wish I Had Seen
Boys
Mechanicville at Lansingburgh: The Knights got their first Colonial Council victory – and their first victory of the season for that matter – in an impressive way topping Mechanicville 52-43. Malik Miller, Dante Carr and Darnell Sutton all finished in the double digits to lead a Lansingburgh offense that has been struggling early this season.
Girls
Tamarac at Hoosic Valley: The Indians almost dropped another come-from-behind loss on Friday night, but was able to hold on for the one-point 53-52 victory over Tamarac, to stay undefeated in the Wasaren League. Jenna Erickson and Briana Matazinsky combined for 30 points for the Bengals; both girls finished in the double digits. More interesting than anything though, Hoosic Valley guard Cassidy Chapko was held to just seven points. Before that game, the senior was averaging just over 22 points a game.

Teams Making the Biggest Moves
Boys
Troy High: The Flying Horses have won three straight since their disappointing overtime loss to La Salle. And they haven’t just won; they’ve won pretty big, including a double digit victory over Schenectady on Friday night. Troy has Tuesday off, and they’ll need it, because come Friday, the squad takes on their biggest opponent thus far – a still undefeated CBA at home. A victory there could very well send the Big 10 into a bit of a tailspin.
Girls
Cohoes: The Tigers are just half a game behind Holy Names in the Colonial Council Division I standings after going on a three-game roll this past week and a half. This is not a position Cohoes is unfamiliar with; last season they spent a good part of the season hanging onto Holy Names’ tailcoats for their standings life. Now, it’s just a matter of staying in this position.

Games I’m Most Looking Forward to…on Tuesday
Boys
Columbia at Ballston Spa: Conrad Zampier has recorded 67 points in the last two games to help the Blue Devils improve to 2-1 in Suburban Council play. With three starters back from last season’s rather all-over-the-place team, Columbia has some serious experience on the court this year. It will be interesting, once we get into the crux of the season, to see how Columbia handles the pressures of the consistently difficult Suburban Council. A good place to start? Going up against a Ballston Spa team that just topped Niskayuna on Friday night.
Girls
Holy Names at Watervliet: This game happened last season too. Early on in the year, both teams undefeated, looking to make a statement as far as standings go in the Colonial Council. It happened last season and Watervliet easily topped Holy Names. Frankly, that’s probably going to be what happens this season as well. The trio of Mikayla Deguire, Ailayia Demand and LaShana Tolliver could very easily put the Cannoneers back in sectionals and might just even get them pretty far into the New York State playoffs as well.